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FOUR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 



“They danced in and out among the trees” (Page 104) 

























































Four-and'Forty Fairies 


/ y » 

N/ MOORE BANTA 


and 


ALPHA BANTA BENSON 


ILLUSTRATED BY 

DOROTHY DULIN 


1923 

A. FLANAGAN COMPANY 
CHICAGO 


COPYRIGHT 1923, BY A, FDA. NAG AN COMPANY 


4 



S 



©Ci.AG!) (5 73 !5 


PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 


MAR 12 ’23 

'V'fc i 





PREFACE 


One of the aims of the authors in the preparation of this 
little fairy book is to present a portion of Fairy Mythology 
in a manner to be easily comprehended by small children. 
In giving the habits, customs, and characteristics of the vari¬ 
ous fairies herein described, the best authorities upon the 
subject of Fairy Mythology have been carefully consulted, 
and the presentation has been made to conform with those 
authorities. 

Besides presenting Fairy Mythology to children, the authors 
have another very vital object in writing this book: that is, 
to assist children to learn to read, and to like to read. 

The reason the best teachers make much use of the fairy 
story in teaching reading in the primary grades is because the 
fairy story directs, cultivates, and stimulates the child’s 
imagination just at the age when this kind of mental gym¬ 
nastics gives him so much pleasure. As the fairy story is 
full of action it accords with the child’s own feelings, and 
makes learning to read easy, because he loves the story. 

The vocabulary of this book is founded upon the vocabu¬ 
laries of the preceding books of the series, namely, “The 
Fairy Primer” and “Fairies of the Nine Hills,” and is very 
small and simple considering the large amount of reading 
matter the book contains. Only a few new words are intro¬ 
duced on each page, and none are used but what the child 
will readily comprehend. 

“Four-and-Forty Fairies” is intended for use in supple¬ 
mentary reading in the Third and Fourth Grades, being 
equivalent in reading matter to any average basic Third 
Reader. 

The authors hope that this little story of a portion of popu¬ 
lar fairy lore is told in a manner connected and interesting 
enough to appeal to the child mind in such a way as to make 
him desire to finish it when he has once begun it; and they 
feel sure that the lessons herein taught in politeness, friend¬ 
ship, good-fellowship, and usefulness will as unconsciously 
become a part of the young reader as the perfume is a part 
of the flower. 






Books by 

N. MOORE BANTA AND 
ALPHA BANTA BENSON 


The Brownie Primer 
Ten Little IBrownie Men 
The Brownies and the Goblins 
Busy Little Brownies 
The Fairy Primer 
Fairies of the Nine Hills 
Four-and Forty Fairies 
Once Upon a Time Stories 
Really Truly Fairy Tales 
Three Popular Stories 
Stories from Grimm 
Daffydow r ndilly and the Golden 
Touch 

The Golden Bird and Seven 
Ravens 

The Little Brown Man 
The Little Brown Pitcher 
Bluest of Blue Birds 
The Chickadee Book 
The Jenny Wren Book 
The BluObird Book 
The Robin Redibreast Book 


Published by 

A. FLANAGAN COMPANY 
CHICAGO 





CONTENTS 


Chapter I 

The Elves Plan a Journey - -- -- -- 9 

Chapter II 

The Hidden Treasures - -- -- -- - 27 

Chapter III 

The Little Men Under the Hills ----- 47 

Chapter IV 

The Guardians of the River - -- -- - 72 

Chapter V 

A Ride Under the Ocean ------- - 84 

Chapter VI 

Six Little Fairy Cousins -------- 90 

Chapter VII 

The Guardians of the Forest ------ 101 

Chapter VIII 

Wonderful Little Workmen - ----- - 109 











‘' King Olin came and sat down by her” ( Page 17) 













FOUR AND FORTY FAIRIES 


CHAPTER I 

THE ELVES PLAN A JOURNEY 



6 i They danced under the trees” 


A band of Elves once lived among the leaves 
of a beautiful old Linden Tree which stood on the 
side of a hill. Near the hill was a shady glen 
through which ran a crystal stream. 

9 







10 


FOUR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 



“Ran over the leaves” 


All day long these little fairies ran over the 
leaves from one tree to another, or traveled about 
up in the air. When they were tired sleeping or 
playing among the leaves, they climbed up and 
slid down the sunbeams. This was one of their 
favorite sports in the daytime. 

As soon as night came they climbed down from 
the tree and ran out into the glen. Here on moon¬ 
light nights they danced under the trees, or rowed 
up and down the stream in their fairy boats. They 


FOUR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 


11 



Playing among the leaves’ 

often climbed up and slid down 
the moonbeams. This was a 
favorite sport on moonlight nights. 

Sometimes, when the moon did not shine, the 
glen would be very dark. Then the Elves would 
leave the woods and dance in the grass on the 
open hillside. 






12 


FOUR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 



“Toadstools upon which the Elves liked to damce” 


On this hillside there were many toadstools and 
mushrooms upon which this band of Elves liked to 
dance. When the people found mushrooms with 
ragged or broken edges, the Elves were blamed 
for it; and if anyone chanced to find a circle on 










FOUR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 


13 



the dewy grass, he knew well that this band of 
fairies had been dancing there the night before. 

Now there w r ere exactly four-and-forty of these 
little Elves—two-and-twenty Elf-women and two- 
and-twenty Elf-men. They were little White Elves. 
They were called White Elves on account of the 
color of their clothes. 

They always dressed in white and gold. Each 
Elf was always very careful to be dressed partly 
in white. They spun and wove white cloth from 
the moonbeams. From the sunbeams they spun 
and wove yellow or gold cloth. 


14 


FOUR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 



“White md gold threads” 


Sometimes they mixed the white and gold 
threads when they were weaving. This gave them 
beautiful white and gold cloth. Out of this cloth 
they made fine clothes. 

The Elf-women were very beautiful. They had 
blue eyes and long golden hair, and the fine clothes 
they wore enhanced their beauty. Also very gal- 














FOUR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 


15 


lant and handsome were the Elf-men in their beau¬ 
tiful gold and white suits. 

These fairies were very tiny, too—so tiny that 
you and I might walk right over them and never 
see them, unless we should wear our fairy spectacles. 

These Elves had a king named Olin, and a queen 
named Tita. King Olin was dressed just like the 
other Elf-men, only instead of a cap he w r ore a 
crown of gold. Queen Tita wore a crown of gold set 
with jewels, and her dress was of silver gauze. 

King Olin and Queen Tita were very kind to 
their little Elfin band. 


had much 
work to 
do. And 
what kind 
of work 


had much 7 / /' 


do. And 


work to 


Now these tiny lit¬ 
tle Elves did not 
dance and play all 
the time. No, 
indeed, they yl , f 


may be sure all these li 
most dearly loved t] 
and queen. 




“They made fine clothes” 



16 


FOUR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 



do you think they did? It would take you a long 
time to guess. 

They were the Good Thought and Rosy Dream 
Fairies. In the daytime they sent good and happy 
thoughts sliding down the sunbeams. On moonlight 
nights they sent sweet and rosy dreams sliding 
down the moonbeams. These good and happy 
thoughts and sweet and yosy dreams were sent 1 6 


FOUR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 


17 



all good and pleasant children and honest, good- 
natured grown-up people. 

One night after the Elves had been dancing a 
long time, Queen Tita sat down on a toadstool 
to rest. By and by King Olin came and sat down 
by her. The other fairies went right on dancing. 
Queen Tita sat watching them for a long time. 

Then she said, “Oh dear! I’m tired of dancing 



18 FOUR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 

and playing the same games so much, and doing 
the same work over and over. I wish we might 
play something new, and find some new work to 
do.” 

“I have been thinking the same thing,” replied 
King Olin. “I have a plan and have just been 
waiting for a good chance to tell you about it.” 

“How very fine!” cried Queen Tita, clapping 
her tiny hands. “Do tell me at once. Please don’t 
keep me waiting another minute.” 

“How should you like to go on a long journey'?” 
asked the king. 

“A journey!” exclaimed the queen. “I should 
like it more than anything else. But where could 
we go'?” 

“To visit our fairy friends. I have been think¬ 
ing for a long time that we ought to get better 
acquainted with the other fairies. I w T ant to know 
'more about their homes and what they do to pass 
the time. I should like to know what they do to 
make themselves and others happy. You have just 
been saying that w T e dance and play too much, and 
that you are tired of it. Perhaps if we visit some 
of the other fairies we may learn to play some¬ 
thing new and do new work.” 


FOUR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 


V9 



Queen Tita sprang up from her toadstool. 

“Oh, how delightful!” she cried. “Let us start 
at once.” 

“Hold!” said King Olin, laughing. “Not quite 
so fast, my queen! We can’t start at once for two 
reasons. We can’t go alone and we can’t go on 
such a journey without something to travel in.” 

“Oh, how tiresome!” pouted the little queen, 








20 FOUR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 

sitting down once more. “How long must we 
wait?” 

“Not long, I hope,” said King Olin. “When 
I first thought of this journey, I sent my faithful 
Ariel to the Dwarfs asking them to send the 
swiftest and best flying-machine they could make. 
I expect him back any time. So get ready as soon 
as you can.” 

“A flying machine! How exciting! But who is 
to go with us?” asked Queen Tita. “I believe you 
said we were not to travel alone.” 

“Yes, that is what I said,” replied the king. 
“And I have decided to take all our people with 
us. Not one shall be left behind.” 

“All of us!” cried Queen Tita. “Why, how can 
we all go? There are four-and-forty of us, all told. 
And in a flying-machine, too! We never can do it.” 

“But this is to be a magic flying-machine, my 
dear,” replied the king. “And you must know 
that in a magic flying-machine there is always 
room for one more. So, as soon as the dancing is 
over, we’ll get ready for the journey.” 

In a short time the other Elves grew tired and 
came crowding about their king and queen, like 
bees around a honeycomb. Then King Olin told 



“Crowding about their king and queen” 













































22 FOUR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 

them of the wonderful journey they were to take. 
They listened quietly till he had finished. Then 
they gave him three times three cheers. 

After that there were three times three more 
for Queen Tita, and then the Elves all scampered 
away to the big tree to get ready for their journey. 

And such a hurrying and scurrying as there was, 
for fear they should not be ready when Ariel 
returned! But so well and swiftly did they work, 
that their home was in apple-pie order and each 
little fairy in perfect readiness; and still no Ariel 
was in sight. 

At last King Olin sent Kappi out into the glen 
to watch for Ariel, while all the other fairies rested. 
They had scarcely had time for four-and-forty 
winks when Kappi came rushing up a moonbeam 
into the big tree, all out of breath, and shouted, 
“lie’s coming! He’s coming!” 

“Who’s coming?” cried the Elves in a chorus, 
rubbing their eyes. They were hardly awake yet. 

“Why, Ariel, of course, with the new flying- 
machine,” said Kappi. 

Down from the tree they all ran, pell-mell, as 
fast as their little legs could carry them. Sure 
enough, there was Ariel just getting out of the 


FOUR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 23 



as the down of a thistle, but as strong as the 
strongest steel. Its name is Thistledown. It’s the 
first of the kind the Dwarfs ever made. Just 
think! It starts, guides, and stops itself! All you 
have to do is to think where you want to go, and 
almost before you know it you’re there!” 

Now there was one little Elf-maid by the name 
of Mab who could write songs and sing them very 
sweetly. She was much interested in this journey. 




24 


FOUR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 


She asked King Olin all about where they were 
going. As soon as he had told her, she wrote a 
song which the Elfin Band played while she sang. 
All the Elves soon learned this song and began 
singing together. Here is what they sang: 



“This is the day 
We will journey away 
To the land where our fairy friends dwell; 
Let us visit the Gnomes 
In their underground homes, 

And list to the stories they tell. 

“Let us journey away 
By night and by day, 

Ip our new magic flying-machine; 

O’er hill and o’er vale, 



FOUR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 


25 



On and on we will sail, 

Till each fairy friend we have seen. 

“We will pause by the streams, 
Where by silver moonbeams, 

The Nixes and Necks may be seen; 
With the jolly old Troll, 

We will pause for a stroll, 

And teach him to dance on the green. 








26 


FOUR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 



“With the Brownies we’ll play” 


“With the Goblins we’ll roam 
Through their fine woodland home; 

With the Kobolds and Brownies we’ll play; 
The Wood-nymphs we’ll see, 

Each guarding a tree, 

And then to the Dwarfs we’ll away.” 








CHAPTER II 


THE HIDDEN TREASURES 

That evening the Man-in-the-Moon put his 
thumb in his eye and looked down upon a pleasing 
sight—four-and-forty fairies seated in their won¬ 
derful machine ready for a long journey. 

They all sat very, very still and waited. Each 
little fairy held his breath; but the machine didn’t 
move even the least little bit. They looked at each 
other in dismay. 

“What’s the matter'? Why don’t we go?” they 
began to ask each other. 

All at once Ariel remembered and he laughed so 
hard he fell out of the machine backward. When 
he had climbed to his seat again and had stopped 
laughing, he said, “Why, don’t you know, some 
one must first think where we want to go!” 

Then all the other little Elves joined in a good 
hearty laugh. What a good joke it was! 

“Then who is to do the thinking?” said Ariel. 

“You, of course. You brought the machine 
home,” said Kappi. 


27 


28 


FOUR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 



“Put his thumb in his eye” 


“It seems to me,” replied Ariel, “that this is 
a game all of us can play. Why not take turns 
thinking of some place to go?” 

“Good! That will be great fun!” shouted the 
other fairies. “You think first, Ariel.” 

“All right,” said Ariel and, closing his eyes, he 
said: 

























FOUR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 


29 



“Sail, Thistledown, sail, 

O’er hill and o’er vale, 

Till we reach the spot 
I have in my thought.’’ 

The wonderful flying-machine rose at once from 
the ground and sailed away in the moonlight like 
some beautiful night bird. They traveled along in 
this way for some time. Then suddenly the air 
about them was filled with sweet music. It sounded 
like the chiming of hundreds of little silver bells. 



30 


FOUR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 


“What is it? Where does it come from?” whis¬ 
pered the Elves, looking about them on all sides. 

Ariel smiled a knowing smile and looked very 
wise. 

“That is fairy music,” he said. 

“But where does it come from?” asked Queen 
Tita. 

“Can’t you guess?” said Ariel; then he laughed 
at their puzzled faces. 

“That is a wonderful part of our machine that 
I didn’t tell you about. I wanted to surprise you. 
The music you heard comes from a number of tiny 
silver pipes inside the machine. When they are 
open the wind blows through them and makes the 
music you now hear.” 

“How do you open them?” asked King Olin. 

“By pressing this little button,” replied Ariel. 

“Well, let’s have some more music,” said Queen 
Tita. 

But just then the flying-machine paused in its 
great flight and sank gently to the ground. 

The Elves sprang from their seats and looked 
about them. They found themselves in a wild, 
mountainous region, very different from any place 
in which they had ever been before. 


FOUR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 31 

“Is this the place?” they asked, turning to Ariel. 

“I think it must be, else we shouldn’t have 
stopped,” replied Ariel. 

“But where are your fairies?” 

“I don’t know,” said Ariel, “but we’ll wait 
awhile and perhaps they’ll come.” 

Ten or fifteen minutes passed, and still not a fairy 
appeared. 

Then all at once the whole mountain side seemed 
alive with Gnomes. They appeared to come right 
out of the earth, as no opening of any kind could 
be seen. They were very queer-looking little men 
with short bodies, short legs, and very long arms 
reaching almost to the ground. 

They were dressed in grayish brown with shoes 
and stockings and funny pointed caps of the same 
color. Indeed, they were so much like the earth 
out of which they came that at first the Elves 
could hardly tell the difference. 

On seeing the Elves and their strange-] ooking 
machine, the Gnomes were very much frightened; 
and you may be sure they were not very slow in 
getting back into their mountain again. Indeed, 
some didn’t even take time to turn around, but ran 
backwards right into the mountain side. 


32 FOUR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 

This looked so very funny to the Elves that they 
all burst out laughing. When the Gnomes heard 
this they came back, but they were afraid to come 
up to the Elves. 

Then King Olin and Queen Tita stood up in 
front of the other Elves. All of the Elves looked 
very friendly and pleasant. The Gnomes began 
to look pleased. 

They looked at the Elves a few moments longer. 
Then out walked the king of the Gnomes. He 
looked very much like the others, only he had a 
very long beard and was dressed in a robe that 
came almost to the ground. His name was Guru. 

When King Guru came out the other Gnomes 
followed. The king then welcomed the Elves and 
invited them to the Gnomes’ underground palace. 

“But how do you go in'?” asked King Olin. “We 
saw you come out but we didn’t see any door.” 

“We don’t need doors,” said King Guru. “We 
Gnomes can move through the earth as easily as a 
fish can swim through the water.” 

“But we can’t do that,” replied King Olin. 
“How, then, can we visit your home?” 

“Of course you can’t do that as you are, but when 
you have swallowed the brown berries I shall give 


FOUR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 


33 



“King Olin and Queen Tita stood up in front” 


you, you will be like us and can go where we go. 
You need not be afraid, for we trust you and will 
do you no harm.” 

Here King Guru beckoned to one of the Gnomes 
and whispered something in his ear. The queer little 
man hurried away and soon returned with a boxful 
of little berries. These very wonderful magic 














34 FOUR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 

berries looked and smelled like fresh, moist earth. 

The Gnome-king took them and gave one to each 
of the four-and-forty Elves. As soon as the Elves 
had swallowed the berries, they began to feel queer. 
They looked at each other and saw that they were 
turning to Gnomes. Only their faces stayed the 
same. 

Just then the Gnome-king beckoned to them and 
they followed him to the mountain side. When 
they reached it they went on without stopping and 
found they could go through the earth as easily as 
through the air. 

They went on in this way for some time. By 
and by they came out into a large cave-like open¬ 
ing, which led into a long hall beyond. 

Here the Gnomes halted and the king said, “This 
is our home. Welcome to it, Elfin friends.’’ 

He then led the way into the hall, which was the 
most beautiful place the Elves had ever seen. The 
walls, ceiling, and floor w r ere all of rock crystal, 
thickly set with diamonds of all shapes and sizes. 
These diamonds made the hall so bright that no 
other light was needed. 

At one end of the hall was King Guru’s throne. 
It was made of a large brilliant diamond and 


FOUR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 


35 


was hung from the ceiling by fine gold chains. 

When they entered the hall a wonderful thing 
happened. The clothing of both Elves and Gnomes 
was changed to pure white. Even King Guru’s 
beard was as white as snow. 

King Guru seated himself on his throne. He 
then motioned for the Elves and Gnomes to be 
seated, too. How grand the king looked in his 
long white robe and snowy beard! The Gnomes 
were very proud of him. 

When they were all seated, King Guru said, 
“Welcome again to the home of the Gnomes. We 
wfill rest here awhile and get better acquainted.” 

King Guru then came down from his throne, and 
began introducing the Elves and Gnomes; and they 
immediately began to talk and get better acquainted 
with each other. 

How happy and delighted they were! It was all 
so interesting for each to learn what the others 
liked best, how they lived, and w 7 here they had 
been. Indeed, it was a great chatter they all set 
up, talking about four-and-forty things at once. 

In about an hour, a Gnome servant appeared and 
whispered something to the king. 

His Majesty at once arose and led the way into 


36 FOUR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 

another hall, also made of rock crystal. The walls 
and ceiling of this hall were set with rubies. Again 
the garments of the fairies were changed, this time 
to a soft rose color. 

In this second hall was a long table loaded with 
all sorts of fairy dainties. How good it looked to 
the hungry Elves! King Guru seated himself at 
the head of the table. Queen Tita sat at his right. 
At his left sat King Olin and next to him was the 
Gnome Prince Loto. 

What a feast that was! There were toasts, 
stories, and songs from both Elves and Gnomes. 
When the feast was over, the king arose and led 
the way into another and larger hall. Like the 
first two, it was of rock crystal. Its walls and ceil¬ 
ing were set with emeralds. 

Here the Elves saw that their clothing changed 
to a beautiful shade of green. These changes were 
very wonderful to the Elves. They had never seen 
the like before. At last Queen Tita made up her 
mind to ask Prince Loto how these changes were 
produced. 

4 'Oh, that is easily explained,” replied the prince 
politely. "These diamonds, rubies, and emeralds 
are magic stones. They have the power to change 





“King Guru seated himself on the throne” 
























38 FOUR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 

the color of any object they shine upon. So you 
see we are dressed in brown only when we go to 
the mines. We don’t like brown. These colors are 
much prettier.” 

In the emerald hall the Elves and Gnomes played 
games, ran races, and danced, till they were tired 
out. 

The Gnomes did not know any games. They 
had never been where there were boys and girls, 
so they hadn’t learned how to play. But the Elves 
taught them how. And what fun they did have! 

When they ran races the Elf-men always beat, 
for the Gnomes had such short legs they couldn’t 
run very fast. But when it came to leapfrog and 
turning handsprings, the Gnomes usually came out 
ahead. 

At last they were all too tired to play any more, 
so King Guru sent a servant to show the Elves 
where they were to sleep. Now you must know 
that in the land of the Gnomes, they have no day 
and night as w r e have. 

They do not know anything about the sun and 
moon. They sleep when they are tired and get up 
when they are rested. So it may have been morning 
with us when these little fairies went to bed. 


FOUR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 3;J 

And what a bedroom that was! It was smaller 
than the other rooms the Elves had seen. In the 
center of the ceiling there was one large moonstone. 
It gave just enough light for the Elves to see 
how to go to bed and not enough to keep them 
awake. And how they did sleep! 

When they awoke they found that the Gnomes 
were all up and had breakfast ready. 

After breakfast King Guru said, “We are going 
to show you the rest of the palace. Then we’ll take 
you to the mines and tell you about our work.” 

You may be sure the Elves were ready for what¬ 
ever the Gnomes wished to do. Our travelers 
wanted to learn all they could about the fairies 
they visited. 

When all were ready, the king led the way to 
that part of the palace which the Elves had not 
yet seen. There were several rooms, all of rock 
crystal, like those they had seen before. The first 
was set with wonderful topazes. They filled the 
room with a beautiful golden light like sunshine. 

The next one was blue, like the sky at night. 
This was caused by the sapphires of all shapes and 
sizes. 

Another one set with amethysts was like the 


40 


FOUR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 


summer sky at sunset. As they went from room 
to room, the Elves noticed that their clothing 
changed from yellow to blue and from blue to 
purple and so on, according to the color of the 
precious stones in the room. How wonderful it all 
was! 

“Now,” said the king, “we will show you our 
treasure room. Then you may see where we work.” 

He then led the wa}^ into a great hall of gray 
stone. Here were a vast number of chests of the 
same material all filled with gold, silver, and 
precious stones. 

“Part of our work is to guard these treasures,” 
said the king. 

“But why do you keep them here?” asked the 
Elf-king. “Why not leave them in the mines?” 

“My dear friend,” said King Guru, “if this gold 
and silver and these precious stones were left in 
the mines, they would soon be dug out. Then there 
would be nothing left. It is our business to guard 
the mines as well as the treasure house. We allow 
the miners to have only a certain amount each year. 
Then, too, we keep the precious stones and metals 
pure and see that nothing destroys them. Now if 
you are ready we’ll show you the mines.” 


FOUR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 


41 



The party followed the king from the treasure 
house into a long hall, or passageway. Here the 
Elves noticed that each Gnome carried a torch. 
A Gnome servant also brought one for each of the 
Elves. 

“These are magic torches,” said Prince Loto. 
“With them we can see through the deepest mine. 




42 


FOUR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 


We are also able to find new mines with the aid of 
these magic torches.” 

The Elves then noticed that the light of each 
torch came from a large crystal set in silver. The 
handle was also of silver. 

Torches in hand, the Elves and Gnomes started 
down the passageway. They did not go far, how¬ 
ever, before they left the passageway and walked 
straight into the earth. On they went without any 
trouble whatever. 

Soon a wonderful sight met the eyes of the little 
Elf-men and Elf-women. On all sides were vast 
mines of gold, silver, and precious stones. The 
Elves stopped and gazed with their mouths open. 
They had not dreamed there could be so much gold 
and silver and so many precious stones in all the 
world. 

“This is only a small part of what we have to 
guard, said Prince Loto. “So you see we have 
plenty of work to do.” 

After visiting several mines they returned to 
the palace. The rest of their stay was spent in 
feasting and merrymaking. When the Elves were 
ready to go, the Gnomes went with them to their 
flying-machine. When they came out of the earth, 


FOUR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 


43 


King Guru gave a little white berry to each Elf. 

“These will make you as you were before / 7 he 
said. 

The Elves swallowed the berries quickly. And 
how glad they were to be just Elves once more! 

With many good-byes and promises to come 
again soon, they climbed into their machine. 

“Now, Kappi, it is your turn to think / 7 said 
Ariel. 

“Must I say a rhyme ? 77 asked Kappi. 

“Yes, that is part of the game . 77 

“All right. Here goes: 

“Fly, Thistledown, fly, 

Like a bird in the sky, 

Till a place you And 
That I have in mind . 77 

The flying-machine began to rock from side to 
side. Then it rocked backward and forward. But 
it didn’t leave the ground. The Elves did not know 
what to do. The Gnomes were waiting to ^ee them 
go up in their wonderful machine; and it wouldn’t 
go. Ariel got out and looked it over. 

“It seems to be all right,” he said. 



FOUR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 


45 


4 ‘Then why doesn’t it go 0 ?” asked little Elf Hitto. 
“The Gnomes will have a good joke on us if it 
doesn’t start pretty soon.” 

“Are you sure you thought right, Kappi *?” asked 
Ariel. 

“Why—why, no, I don’t believe I did,” stam¬ 
mered Kappi. “I was thinking so hard about my 
rhyme that I forgot to think nf the place.” 

How the Elves did laugh when they found out 
what was the matter!—all but poor Kappi. He 
couldn’t see anything very funny about it. 

At last Ariel said, “Never mind, Kappi. We 
all make mistakes sometimes. Just say your rhyme 
again and don’t forget to think of the place.” 

Little Elf Kappi did as he was told and at once 
the magic machine began to move. The little Elf- 
women waved their tiny handkerchiefs and the 
Elf-men took off their caps and waved a last good¬ 
bye to the Gnomes. 

Each little Gnome answered by throwing up his 
cap and shouting at the top of his voice. The 
Gnomes kept this up till their little friends were 
carried out of sight. Then they went back to their 
palace, and for days and days they talked of the 
Elves and the wonderful flying-machine. 


“They slid down the moonbeams” 









CHAPTER III 


THE LITTLE MEN UNDER THE HILLS 

In only a few moments the Elves were a long 
distance from the land of the Gnomes. 

On and on the airship flew, 

Over hill and valley, too, 

Sometimes high and sometimes low, 
Sometimes fast and sometimes slow; 

How the fairy pipes did play 
For. the tiny Elves so gay! 

What a wonderful ride that was! All day long 
they sailed. Then the sun went down, one by one 
the stars came out, and at last the moon came up. 
Still they sailed, and at last they began to get 
sleepy. 

“If this journey is going to last much longer,” 
said Queen Tita, “we might as well take a nap.” 

But just then the flying-machine sailed over a 
very high hill and sank into the valley beyond. 

47 


48 


FOUR-AND-FORTY r FAIRIES 



The Elves tumbled out and looked around, and 
what do you think they saw? 

No, I’m sure you never could guess no matter 
how hard you might try, for it was a very, very 
queer sight. Now what would you . think if you 
should all at once come upon a number of hills, 
each one raised upon great red pillars? You would 
rub your eyes and think you must be dreaming, 
wouldn’t you? Yes, I’m sure you would. Yet that’s 
exactly what the Elves saw. 

These hills were almost as large as the one they 
had just passed over. But the most wonderful 
sight of all was a lot of funny little men singing; 
dancing, and making merry under one of the hills. 

They were not at all pretty, these little fairy men, 



“Funny little men, singing and dancing” 



































50 


FOUR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 


for they had great humps on their backs and very 
long crooked noses. But their eyes were merry and 
their faces kind. So after all, their looks didn’t 
matter much. 

These little men were dressed in gray jackets 
and trousers and wrnre red slippers and funny 
pointed red caps. Each of these caps was shaped 
like a bonnet or hood. These fairies are called 
Trolls. They belong to the Dwarf family. Indeed, 
we may call them first cousins to the Dwarfs. 

Now when they saw the Elves, the Trolls came 
running out to welcome the visitors and invite them 
to the Troll merrymaking. You see, these cousins 
to the Dwarfs knew who the Elves were, although 
they and the Elves had never visited each other. 

“You are just in time,” said the Troll-king, whose 
name was Skynd. “This is Prince Skotte’s birth¬ 
day and we are feasting and making merry -in his 
honor. Welcome, thrice welcome, to the home of 
the Trolls.” 

King Skynd then led the way to one of the hills, 
and the music and dancing went on as before. And 
how the Elves did enjoy it, and how glad they 
were that they had arrived in time for the birthday 
party! 


FOUR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 


51 



“How the Elves did enjoy it” 


The Trolls had never seen such beautiful dancing 
as the little Elf-women and Elf-men did. King 
Skynd and the Queen of the Elves led the dance. 
Then came King Olin and the Queen of the Trolls. 
The Troll-women were much delighted with the 
beauty and grace of the Elf-women. Before the 
evening had passed, the Trolls could dance almost 
as well as the Elves. 

“We never had so much fun before,” said the 
Elves. “And just think, we might have missed it 
all, if it hadn’t been for Kappi! You’re all right, 









52 


FOUR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 



“The Trolls had never seen such beautiful dancing” 


Kappi, even if you did make a mistake at first .’ 9 
That made Kappi feel happier than ever. 

When each little Elf and each little Troll had 
danced as long as he wished, King Skynd led the 





FOUR-AND-FORTV FAIRIES 


53 



“Danced as long as they wished” 


way to another liill. In this hill there was a tabic 
reaching from one end of the long hall to the 
other. All the dishes on this table were of gold, 
silver, and crystal, and the cloth was of the finest 

linen. 

The furniture and hangings were very rich and 










54 


FOUR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 


splendid. Everywhere were beautiful flowers and 
plants of every kind. 

On the table were all the fairy dainties ever seen 
or heard of. And how our hungry little Elves 
enjoyed each dish set before them! Everything was 
so good and everyone was so happy, that each 
wanted to say something nice about the other. 

King Skynd acted as toastmaster. He proposed 
a toast to the Elves. Prince Skotte then rose and 
said: 


“Here’s to the Elf band, 

Very jolly and clever! 

The best of all dancers, 

They’re a joy forever.” 

When the Trolls and the Elves were through 
cheering, Ariel was called upon to answer the toast. 
He rose and said: 

“Here’s to King Skynd 
And Prince Skotte, his son, 

And to every small Troll 
Living under the sun.” 


“That won’t do,” said Kappi. 


FOUR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 


55 


“Why not?” asked Ariel, somewhat confused. 

“Because the Trolls don’t live under the sun; 
they live under a hill.” 

“Well,” said Ariel, “isn’t the hill under the 
sun?” 

At this there was such laughing, shouting, and 
clapping of hands that Kappi hid his head under 
the table. 

Here King Skynd proposed a toast to King Olin. 
A little Troll named Orm arose and said: 

“Here’s to King Olin, 

An Elf wise and merry; 

His friends all well know 
He’s a.kind-hearted fairy.” 

The Trolls clapped their hands and shouted, 
“That’s so! That’s so!” 

King Olin rose and thanked them, saying, “A 
toast to Prince Skotte. Hitto may give this toast.” 

Hitto rose and said: 

“Here’s to Prince Skotte, 

Whom we honor to-day; 

May he dance many bright 
Happy birthdays away!” 


56 FOUR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 

“The best toast of all—to King Skynd!” shouted 
tiie Elves. 

Then Kappi stood up and gave this rhyme: 

“Here’s to King Skynd, 

A right jolly Troll, 

He’s fully as merry 
As good old King Cole.” 

“How happy all this makes me!” said King 
Skynd. “My Elfin friends, it is hard for me to 
tell you how much we enjoy your visit. 

“My Four-and-Forty Fairies, 

I extend to you my hand; 

The truest friends we’ll ever be 
In all this Fairyland.” 

Then followed a number of toasts. King Olin 
gave one to Queen Gfwainie of the Trolls. King 
Skynd gave one to Queen Tita of the Elves. Then 
came fine toasts to all the Elf-women and all the 
Troll-women. Finally little Mab, the poet of the 
Elves, was called on. She gave a beautiful toast to 
all Fairyland. 


FOUR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 


57 



“The poet of the Elves” 


This ended the feast, for each little fairy had 
eaten so much he felt as if he should never be 
hungry again. So they all made their way to a 
large hall, where they played games and did tricks 
till they were all tired out. In most of these games 
and contests the Elves were the winners, but there i 


58 


FOUR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 


was one thing the Trolls could do that the Elves 
couldn’t learn. It was done in this way: 

Prince Skotte walked to the middle of the hall. 

“We’re going to play a new game,” said he. 
“We’ll call it, 6 Catch me if you can.’ King Olin 
may try it, or he may choose any one of his men 
in his stead. Or you may all try it if you wish. 

We’ll not go out of this hall, and we’ll give you 

as much time as you like.” 

The Elf-men winked at each other and laughed 
to think of an Elf not being able to catch a Troll. 

“This will be easy,” they said to each other. 

“We won all the other races. We’re sure to win 

this one.” 

Now you must know that the Trolls have very 
wonderful power to change themselves into any 
form they choose. They do it so quickly that no 
one can see how it is done. Of course, the Elves 
didn’t know this, or they wouldn’t have been so sure 
of winning. 

King Olin was chosen to take part in this game 
with Prince Skotte. The Elves all thought His 
Majesty ought to have the honor of winning since 
he was their king. 

King Olin took his place in the center of the 


FOFR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 


59 


hall, with Prince Skotte ten steps in the lead. The 
king looked at the hump on the Troll’s back, and 
felt that the race was as good as won. Of course, 
the prince couldn’t run! Who could with such a 
back as that? 

King Skynd acted as starter. Taking off his cap, 
he said, “When I drop this cap, go.” 

Down went the cap and away went the prince 
with King Olin following very closely. Once around 
the hall they went. Then King Olin began to gain. 
Soon only a step lay between them. The Elves 
began to cheer. Then just as King Olin \Vas 
about to take hold of the prince, there was no 
prince there! 

King Olin stopped and looked about him. What 
could have happened? Was he dreaming? He 
didn’t see the little gray mouse that scampered 
across the floor into a corner. Neither did the 
other Elves see it. They didn’t know what to make 
of the prince’s disappearance. Then all at once, 
there was Prince Skotte at the other end of the hall 
crying. “Catch me if you can!” 

Away went King Olin like the wind. “He won t 
get away from me this time,” he said. 

But just when he thought he had the prince, this 


60 


FOUR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 


cunning Troll was gone; and oil horrors! there 
stood a great hungry lion in his place! Poor King 
Olin gave one wild yell and turned a somersault 
backwards. 

When he came up again the lion was gone, and 
there was Prince Skotte laughing and calling out, 
“Catch me if you can.” 

King Olin shot across the hall and made another 
grab for the prince. But again the prince vanished 
and King Olin saw a beautiful big cat go bounding 
across the hall. 

“Catch him! Catch him!” shouted the Elves. 
“That’S the prince. Why don’t you catch him?” 

They all saw now what the trick was. 

“All of you may try it,” said King Skynd. 

Away went the two and twenty Elf-men, sure 
that one of them at least could outwit the Troll. 
Round and round the hall they chased the big cat. 
At last they got him into a corner; but before they 
could get him he had vanished. 

The next instant they saw him in the opposite 
corner, crying, “Catch me if you can!” 

Again the Elves gave chase and soon had him 
surrounded. They were sure they had him this 
time. 


FOUR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 


61 



“He can’t get away now, no matter what he be¬ 
comes!” they said. 

They closed in on him and King Olin was just 
ready to grab him, when lo! there was a flutter of 
wings and a great white bird flew up and circled 
about the room. 

Then how the Trolls did cheer! By and by the 
Elves joined in. 

“We shall have to give it up,” said King Olin. 
“We’re surely beaten this time.” 





62 FOUR-AND-FORT Y FAIR IES 

The Elves were very fond of winning, but when 
they saw they were beaten they said so quickly. 

Prince Skotte now became a Troll again, and the 
Elves all shook hands with him and told him he 
was wonderful. 

By this time, everyone was ready for a good rest. 
So after every little Elf and every little Troll had 
said goodnight to each other, they scampered away 
to their beds. And how they did sleep! The Elves 
were so tired and their beds were so soft that they 
slept very late the next morning. They didn’t wake 
up till the hills had been let down, everything had 
been put to rights, and breakfast was ready. 

When breakfast was over, King Skynd said, 
“Now if you are ready we will show you the rest 
of our home.” 

The Elves said they were ready for anything, so 
they all started out. What a merry party they 
were, and how the Elves enjoyed learning about 
the home life of these wonderful little long-nosed, 
humpbacked Trolls! 

All the rooms our travelers visited were as rich 
and grand as the ones they had seen the night 
before. like the Gnomes, the Trolls had a treasure 
room in which there were great chests filled with 





“The Trolls had a treasure room ’ 7 

















































64 


FOUR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 


gold and silver and a very great number of jewels. 

“These were all buried or hidden treasures which 
we have discovered and dug up,” said King Skynd. 
“We bring them here and use them in helping the 
poor. We are always looking for people who need 
our help and we find a great many of them.” 

“I think that is fine,” said King Olin. “I like 
that. We Elves should like to do something for the 
poor, too, but our help would be mostly work, as 
we have no gold and silver to give. We give good 
people happy thoughts by day and pleasant dreams 
by night.” 

“It’s all the same,” said the Troll-king. “We 
are all doing what we can to make things better, 
and it comes to the same thing in the end. Indeed, 
kind words and kind deeds do more good than gold 
and silver.” 

When they had seen all the hills, they returned 
to the one they had first seen the night before. The 
Trolls then showed their guests how they raised 
their hills at night. 

“You see it gives us more air and more room,” 
said the king. 

While they were still talking, a poor farmer drove 
by with a load of vegetables. King Skynd hurried 





FOUR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 


65 


out and stopped him. The old man looked very 
much surprised and somewhat frightened. 

“Turn your horse around and drive into this 
hill,” said the king. “I’ll buy your vegetables and 
give you a good price for them.” 

At first the poor old man looked as if he’d rather 
drive any place else. But he was afraid not to do 
as the Troll-king told him, so he turned and drove 
into the hill where the Trolls kept their vegetables. 

The wagon was soon unloaded. The king then 
beckoned to several of the Trolls, who scampered 
away as fast as their crooked backs would allow 
them. In a twinkling they were back carrying a 
big chest filled with shining gold pieces. This they 
lifted into the farmer’s wagon. 

When the farmer saw how much gold was in 
the chest, he was so amazed he came near falling out 
of the wagon. He couldn’t believe the Trolls meant 
to give it to him for his load of vegetables. When 
the Trolls told him that was just what they wanted 
to do, he said it was a great deal more than the 
vegetables w T ere worth. 

“Why, all the vegetables I ever raised in my life 
would not bring half that much!” said he. 

“They’re worth that to us,” said King Skynd, 




66 FOUR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 



“Came near falling out of the wagon 99 


“and it’s worth that many times over to know a 
man as good and honest as we know you to be. 
So take it along, my friend, and welcome. All we 
ask of you is not to say anything about this to any¬ 
one, and to do all the good you can with the 
money. We feel sure you will do this, so we are 
not afraid to trust you.” 









FOUR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 


67 


The farmer was so overcome with gratitude to 
these kind little fairy men that he could hardly 
thank them for their kindness. 

After he had driven away, the king said, “That’s 
the best old man I ever saw. We have watched him 
a long time and we know all about him. He has 
spent all his life doing for others, and has hardly 
ever received even thanks for his trouble. That’s 
the kind of people I like to help.” 

The Elves all agreed with him. 

As it was almost noon some of the Trolls went 
to prepare the dinner, while the others, with King 
Skynd and Prince Skotte, entertained their guests. 

When dinner was over, King Olin proposed that, 
the Trolls come for a ride in the magic flying- 
machine. Of course the Trolls thought this would 
be great fun. They didn’t know the first thing 
about a flying-machine, or they wouldn’t have been 
so eager to go. 

“We won’t go very high or very far,” said King 
Olin. “A flying-machine is something you have to 
get used to.” 

The Elves gave the Trolls the best places in the 
flying-machine. They then found seats for them¬ 
selves wherever they could. 




68 


FOUR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 


When all were ready, King Olin said, “Trip, you 
may take charge this time.” 

Now Trip was not expecting to be thus honored, 
and it made him so proud he hardly knew what 
he was about. His brain was in a whirl but he 
managed to say: 

“Up, Thistledown, to the sky so blue, 

And show our friends what you can do.” 

The flying-machine shot up like a skyrocket. 
Then it began to go round and round like a merry- 
go-round. When the Trolls could get their breath 
they howled with fear. 

Both Elves and Trolls began to get dizzy. 

“Stop it! Stop it!” cried Queen Tita. “We’re 
getting air-sick.” 

And all the Elf-women began screaming at the 
top of their voices. 

“I can’t stop it,” shouted Trip. 

“Yes, you can,” said Ariel. “Just think straight. 
You’re thinking in a circle. Your brain must be in 
a whirl.” 

“Maybe you’re right,” said Trip. “Which way 
do you want to go? Straight up or down?” 



“Some left feet first , some headfirst" 














70 


FOUR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 


“Down! Down!” screamed the Trolls loudly. 

They had no sooner said it than down went the 
flying-machine like a flash. It struck the ground 
so hard that it bounced back like a rubber ball. By 
the time it came down again the Trolls were all out. 
They were not at all polite about it, either. Some 
left the machine feet first, some headfirst—any way 
to get out. 

Then they stood off and looked at the queer ma¬ 
chine. They would not go near it again. They did 
not know what it might do next. 

“The machine is all right,” said King Olin. “If 
was Trip’s thinking that was wrong.” 

“That may be true,” said King Skynd, “but I’d 
rather not try it again.” 

While they stood talking about it there was a 
sharp flash of lightning. It was followed by a 
terrible crash of thunder. 

Now there is nothing these little Trolls fear so 
much as thunder. If they happen to be out when 
a storm comes up they always run to their hills as 
fast as they can. 

They had been so taken up with the flying-ma¬ 
chine they had not seen the black clouds in the 
sky. So when it thundered it frightened them so 



FOUR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 


71 


they could hardly get home fast enough. They 
even forgot to ask the Elves to go with them. But 
the Elves went anyway. 

They knew the Trolls were very much frightened 
and they wished to help these little Dwarf-people 
if they could. The Elves were not at all afraid of 
storms. They loved to be out in a storm and watch 
the rain and the lightning. 

They told the Trolls there was nothing to fear. 
They told what made the thunder and why it 
couldn’t hurt any fairy. The Trolls were glad to 
hear this, but they didn’t think they should ever 
like to be out in a storm. 

When the storm was over, the Elves said they 
must be going. The Trolls begged them to stay 
longer. 

But King Olin said, “We must not think of it, 
as we have a number of other places to visit before 
going home. We thank you so much for the good 
times you have given us!” 

And they once more climbed into their machine. 

The Trolls came out to see their friends off. But 
these little Dwarf-people did not again go very 
near the flying-machine. They were afraid it might 
suddenly go up and carry them with it. 


CHAPTER IV 


THE GUARDIANS OF THE RIVER 

When each little Elf had found a good seat, King 
Olin said, “Hopo, you come next on the list.” 

At this, twenty little Elves, including Queen Tita, 
scrambled out of the flying-machine. 

“Hold on there!” cried King Olin. “Where are 
you going?” 

“We’re going to walk,” said Kappi. 

“Nonsense! What’s that for?” 

“Well, you see, we’d rather stay out than be 
spilled out; and that’s what will happen if Hopo 
does the thinking. He can’t think right. His brain 
is topsy-turvy.” 

Of course these little Elves were only joking. 
They liked to tease Hopo. Now Hopo was a very 
good-natured little Elf, and he didn’t mind their 
teasing a bit. But he thought it would be such fun 
to turn the joke on them. 

So he said, “All right! You’re welcome to walk.” 


72 



They waved their caps and handkerchiefs” 























74 


FOUR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 


The next moment the flying-machine bounded 
into the air and was soon lost to view over the 
hilltops. 

The little Elves looked at each other in amaze¬ 
ment. They didn’t know what to think or wfliat 
to say. By and by Queen Tita found her voice. 

“That’s what we get for joking/’ she said. 
“Hopo thought we were in earnest and he*’s gone 
and left us. Now the question is, what are we to 
do? We can’t walk, for we don’t know where 
they’re going. And we can’t go home, for it’s too 
far to walk. If they don’t return we will climb up 
the sunbeams and slide down to our home.” 

“Let us stay here until they come back,” said 
Mab. “ They ’ll be sure to come. See if they don’t! 
They’ll be too lonesome to stay away very long.” 

So the little Elves sat down to wait. And sure 
enough, it wasn’t long until they saw Thistledown 
sailing toward them like a beautiful white bird. 

Oh, how glad those little Elves were to see their 
companions once more! They waved their caps and 
handkerchiefs and shouted like little wild people. 

They were in their seats almost before the flying- 
machine had touched the ground. When all were 
ready, Hopo said, “Are you willing now for me to 
















































76 


FOUR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 


do the thinking to guide us to more fairies?” 
“Yes! Yes!” they all shouted. 

“All right! 

Sit tight! 

And you shall see a pretty sight. 

“Ready, now. Here goes. 

“Sail, Thistledown, o’er mountain high, 

On and on till by and by, 

The place I’m thinking of is found; 

Then drop us gently to the ground.” 

The flying-machine shot up so quickly it almost 
took away their breath. It kept going straight up 
until they were as high as the highest mountains. 
Then it suddenly turned a somersault. 

The Elves were frightened almost to death. They 
thought the end had come. And no wonder! Think 
of falling five miles! But it was done so quickly, 
they didn’t have time to fall out. 

“There!” said Lob, when he could get his breath. 
“Didn’t I tell you Hopo’s brain was topsy-turvy? 
He’s thinking upside down.” 


FOUR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 77 

“Now don't get scared!" said Hopo. u Thistle¬ 
down and I know what we're about. We were just 
turning around, that's all. You see we were headed 
the wrong way." 

The Elves couldn't quite see how turning a somer¬ 
sault could be the same as turning around, but 
thought it best not to say anything. 

From this time on, Thistledown behaved pretty 
well, which showed that Hopo could think all right 
when he wished to do so. When the Elves saw 
everything was going well, they grew quite cheerful. 
They told stories and sang songs. 

In this way the time passed very quickly, and 
before they dreamed of being at their journey's end, 
Hopo said, “Shut your eyes and don't open them 
until I tell you to." 

At once three-and-forty pairs of Elfin eyes were 
shut very tight. The flying-machine soared up 
over a very high mountain. Then it came gently 
down to the ground. 

“Ready! Look!" cried Hopo. 

Three-and-forty pairs of eyes flew open; and 
what a beautiful sight they beheld! They had 
alighted upon the green, mossy banks of a beautiful 
river. Its crystal waters rippled over pearly peb- 


78 FOUR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 

bles and sands of gold. Its mossy banks were like 
green velvet. And what wonderful trees grew 
upon those banks! No such trees are ever seen 
outside of Fairyland. No, indeed! 

While the Elves looked, ten beautiful fairy 
maidens came up out of the river. Their dresses 
were gray with golden girdles about their waists. 

Each maiden carried a comb of gold with which 
to comb her long golden hair. They always combed 
their hair with golden combs. 

These beautiful fairy maidens were called Nixes. 
They were the guardians of this fairy river. As the 
Elves sat watching the Nixes, up came ten hand¬ 
some fairy youths with blue eyes and golden curls. 

These youths were called Necks. They, too, were 
dressed in gray and wore red slippers and red 
caps. 

Each Neck carried a golden harp. They all sat 
down on the water and began to play. 

What wonderful music they made! When the 
fairy maidens heard it they at once began to dance 
on the top of the water. 

The Elves, too, found that they were not able 
to keep their feet still. So they jumped out of 
their flying-machine and began to keep time to this 



“They at once began to dance on the top of th]e waves” 





























80 FOUR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 

strange music. As they danced it seemed to them 
that the river danced, too. 

Thistledown bobbed merrily up and down, and the 
shells and pebbles and even the leaves on the trees 
seemed all to be keeping time to this magic music. 

Paster and faster flew the fairy fingers over the 
golden strings. All at once the music stopped and 
as suddenly everyone and everything stopped danc¬ 
ing. 

Just then the Necks and Nixes discovered the 
Elves. Oh, how excited they were! They all ran 
across to the other side of the river. They pointed 
toward the Elves and all began talking at once. 

At last they motioned for the Elves to come 
across. Of course the Elves w T ere glad to go. They 
at once climbed into their flying-machine. 

Then Hopo said: 

“Sail, Thistledown, o’er the river wide, 

And land us safe on the other side.” 

Almost as soon as the words were spoken the 
Elves were across the river. The Necks and Nixes 
crowded about them and gave them a hearty wel¬ 
come. This made the Elves feel very happy. They 


FOUR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 81 

had never seen anything quite so pretty as those 
Nixes and Necks. 

How different they were from the Gnomes and 
Trolls our travelers had just visited! To be sure, 
the Elves liked the Trolls and Gnomes very much. 
But these little Elf-men and Elf-women loved beau¬ 
tiful things. It did their eyes good to look at these 
Necks and Nixes. 

Now the Nixes were ruled by a princess whose 
name was Dewdrop. She wore a crown of gold, set 
with diamonds which sparkled like drops of dew. 
The ruler of the Necks was a prince named Rain¬ 
drop. He wore a red cap. About this cap was a 
gold band set with stones that sparkled with every 
color of the rainbow. He also wore a red sash with 
gold-fringed ends. 

After bidding the Elves welcome, Princess Dew- 
drop invited both Elves and Necks to her palace 
under the river. 

“But how can we go there ?” asked Queen Tita. 
“We can’t swim and dive nor can we stay under 
the water. We shall be drowned if we go.” 

“But you can do as we do after you drink of 
the magic liquid I shall give you,” said the princess. 

She then told one of her maidens to bring this 


82 


FOUR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 


wonderful drink. The Nix went down into the river 
and soon returned with a crystal pitcher and tiny 
golden cup. Each little Elf-woman and each little 
Elf-man was given a cupful of the sparkling liquid. 

Never had they tasted anything quite so delicious. 
No sooner had they drunk it than they could hardly 
wait until they got into the water. They had never 
even learned to swim. But now they felt as if they 
wanted to live in the water always. 

They followed Princess Dewdrop down, down 
into the clear, cool water, 
0 * far below the surface. At 



















FOUR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 83 

The Elves had never seen anything so splendid. 
The Gnomes and Trolls had fine homes, but those 
homes were not so grand as this river palace. The 
Elves fairly feasted their sharp little eyes on the 
splendors of these vast palace halls. 

In fact, it was all so beautiful and they gazed so 
much at these gorgeous colors that it made their 
eyes ache. They had to go up to the top of the 
water and look at the sun to give their eyes a rest. 

They were never tired, however, of playing about 
in the water. Since drinking the magic liquid, each 
little Elf felt as much at home there as a fish. What 
fun it was to swim here and there, and now and 
then to take a ride on the back of a turtle or fish! 

Now you must know that it isn't an easy thing 
to ride a fish. But the Elves liked to do things that 
were hard to do. So they soon learned to mount 
and ride a fish as easily as you would mount and 
ride your pony. 

The Elves soon found that they could walk and 
even dance on top of the water just as the Nixes 
and Necks did. And they enjoyed it just as much, 

too. 


CHAPTER V 


A RIDE UNDER THE OCEAN 

One night when the moon shone very bright they 
all made their way to the top of the water. They 
danced and played and even ran races on the surface 
of the river. All at once there was a stir in the 
water about them, and up came a number of beau¬ 
tiful black horses. 

“The Kelpies! The Kelpies!” cried the Necks 
and Nixes. “Give us a ride, Kelpies. Give us a ride!” 

Now Kelpies are water fairies that appear some¬ 
times as old men, sometimes as pretty boys, but 
oftener in the form of beautiful black ponies. The 
Necks and Nixes liked best to see them come in 
this form, for then these pretty little fairies were 
always sure of a jolly ride. 

“Give us a ride!” shouted the Necks and Nixes 
again, as they crowded about the Kelpies. The 
Kelpies arched their glossy necks and pranced gaily 
about. 


84 


FOUR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 


85 



All at once they stopped. Then what a scramble 
there was! Soon every little fairy was mounted 
on the back of a Kelpie. 

“Take us to the ocean to visit the Mermaids and 
Sea-nymphs,” said Princess Dewdrop. 


























86 


FOUR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 


''Yes, yes! Let us go to the ocean,” cried the 
other fairies. 

Away went the Kelpies like the wind. Some¬ 
times they rode on top of the water, sometimes at 
the bottom of the river. Oh, what a ride that was! 
At last they came to the ocean. Down, down, down 
they went, thousands of feet below the surface. 

Far above them they could hear the booming of 
the great ocean waves. After going down about 
five miles they reached the deepest place in the 
ocean. The Kelpies carried them first to the Mer¬ 
maids ’ palace. Like the Nixes’ palace it was of 
crystal and gold, but much larger and finer. 

The Mermaids greeted their fairy cousins, the 
Necks and Nixes. They were then introduced to 
the little Elf-men and Elf-women, whom they wel¬ 
comed warmly. 

After a short stay in the Mermaids’ palace, all 
the river fairies and their guests went to visit the 
beautiful Sea-nymphs. They, too, were cousins of 
the Necks and Nixes. 

These Sea-nymphs lived in a palace of coral and 
pearl. It was not so grand as the palace of the 
Mermaids, but the Elves liked it better. It was 
.more restful. 


FOUR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 


87 


The Mermaids were dressed in white, with girdles 
of gold about their waists. They had wonderful blue 
eyes and long golden hair. The Sea-nymphs had 
beautiful black hair and eyes, and wore dresses of 
pearl-gray with pink girdles. 

The Necks, Nixes, and Elves stayed two whole 
days and nights with the Sea-nymphs and the Mer¬ 
maids, and they all enjoyed every minute of the 
time. The last night of their stay, there was a 
terrible storm at sea. 

Of course, none of these fairies thought of being 
afraid in a storm. They really enjoyed being out 
at such times. The harder it stormed the better 
they liked it. When they heard the roaring of the 
wind and the thundering of the waves, they all 
hurried up to the surface as soon as possible. 

And what a time they had playing about in the 
water! The wind and waves tossed them about 
like a lot of corks. Sometimes a great wave would 
come and carry them thirty-five or forty feet into 
the air. Then down they would plunge, only to be 
carried up again on the next wave. 

It was like riding on a giant seesaw. Up and 
down, up and down they rode, laughing and shout¬ 
ing with glee. All at once they heard human voices. 


88 


FOUR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 


They stopped laughing and listened. The voices 
came again, louder than before. It sounded like 
men shouting for help. Then they heard the 
screams of women and children. 

“A shipwreck! A shipwreck!’’ cried the Sea- 
nymphs. “Let’s go and help them.” 

Now the Elves did not know just what should be 
done. They had never seen a shipwreck before; 
but when help of any kind was needed, the Elves 
were always on hand. 

The Sea-nymphs were very kind fairies, too.- 
They had saved many a poor sailor from drowning 
by guiding his ship safely to land. So they called 
on all the fairies to help save the people. 

The Sea-nymphs hurried away as fast as they 
could. All the other fairies followed. An old Sea- 
nvmph took command of the life-saving party. 
When the fairies reached the ship it was just go¬ 
ing down. The men were all in the water. 

The women and children had been put into life¬ 
boats. The old Sea-nymph told the other fairies 
to tow all these boats to shore as quickly as they 
could. She then called to the Kelpies to help with 
the men who were in the water. 

The Kelpies came and the Elves placed the 


FOUR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 


89 



drowning men on their backs. Soon every man, 
woman, and child w r as saved. Of course, they 
didn’t know the fairies had saved them. They 
thought the waves had carried them ashore. And 
oh, how thankful they were! 

By this time every little fairy was tired enough 
to want a rest. So back to the Mermaids’ palace 
they went as fast as the Kelpies could carry them. 

The next day the Elves, Necks, and Nixes re¬ 
turned to the river palace; and that night the 
Elves bade good-bye to the river fairies and once 
more started on their travels. 



















CHAPTER VI 


SIX LITTLE FAIRY COUSINS 

When each of the four-and-forty fairies had 
found a seat in the flying-machine, King Olin said, 
“Pip? you may try your luck this time.” 

Now Pip was a very queer little EM. He was 
very anxious to do just the right thing but, as 
Queen Tita said, he always seemed to get every¬ 
thing wrong-end-to. So when King Olin gave him 
command of the flying-machine, each little Elf 
began to wonder what would happen. 

Pip looked very much flustered at first. How¬ 
ever, he resolved to show his fairy companions that 
for once he could do as the other fairies did. So 
he said: 


“Go, Thistledown, go 
Not too fast nor too slow, 

To a place far away, 

Reaching there at break of day.” 
90 


FOUR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 91 

Obediently Thistledown rose in the air and sailed 
swiftly away. The Elves looked at each other in 
amazement. What was going to happen? Would 
Pip really break the record by once doing some¬ 
thing in the right way? They could hardly be¬ 
lieve their senses. 

Pip saw their surprise and it made him so proud 
that he forgot to think right. In a twinkling the 
flying-machine stopped. For a moment it hung 
poised in mid-air. Then it began swaying dizzily 
from side to side. Suddenly it shot backwards so 
quickly that the Elves very nearly lost their 
balance. 

“He’s thinking backwards,” shouted Ariel. 

Straight back over the way they had come went 
the flying-machine so fast that before Pip had time 
to get his thoughts turned round, they were once 
more on the fairy river. How the Elves did laugh! 
Pip joined in, for he was used to being laughed at. 

When they had all quieted down, King Olin told 
Pip he might try it again. So Pip said his rhyme 
once more, resolved not to think of anything but 
Thistledown and the place he wished to reach. 

Again Thistledown rose in the air and sailed 
away, as well-behaved as anyone could wish. For 


92 FOUR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 

a time the Elves looked for something to go wrong, 
but when nothing did they settled down to enjoy 
the ride. 

When Pip saw that they had begun to trust him 
his confidence in himself grew greater than ever. 
Just think! He, Pip, was able at last to give his 
fairy companions a little pleasure. 

Then came the thought, “Why not increase their 
pleasure by giving them some music ?” 

Now Pip’s plan might have worked all right if 
he hadn’t had his mind so full of himself. As it 
was, he was so puffed up over his success that he 
opened the wrong end of the magic pipes and of 
course the music was played backwards. 

At first the Elves could not understand what 
was wrong. But when at last it became clear to 
them they laughed so hard that they almost fell 
out of the machine. As for Pip, he was so flustered 
he couldn’t think of anything for a little while. At 
last Thistledown stopped altogether. 

Then someone managed to say, “Open the other 
end of the pipes, and then say your rhyme again.” 

Pip did as he was told. Thistledown sailed away, 
the fairy pipes played their sweetest and merriest, 
and Pip began to feel happy again. The rest of the 



“An interesting sight met their eyes” 










































94 FOUR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 

journey he thought of the other fairies instead of 
himself, and everything went well. 

Just before the sun arose they came to a grand 
old forest. Here Thistledown paused a moment 
and then sank slowly to the ground. Immediately 
the little Elves sprang out and looked about them. 

At first they could see nothing but trees. Finally, 
however, they noticed what seemed to be a great 
room or hall. This hall appeared to be formed 
merely of great trees growing very close together 
with their thick branches meeting overhead to 
form a roof. Within this hall they could hear 
shouts of laughter and merrymaking. 

At a sign from King Olin, Pip led the way to an 
opening between the trees which served for a 
doorway. Here an interesting sight met their eyes. 
Within this beautiful woodland hall, a number of 
fairies were feasting and making merry. 

At the first glance these fairies appeared to be¬ 
long to one family. But the Elves soon saw that 
although they resembled one another in some ways, 
they were quite different in other respects. The 
Elves finally discovered that there were six distinct 
families of fairies present. 

They afterwards learned that these families were 


FOUR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 


95 


Brownies, Goblins, Kobolds, Tomtes, Nisses, and 
Lutins. Now these fairies were indeed very much 
alike, not only in appearance but in their habits as 
well. In fact, they were cousins, which, of course, 
accounted for their resemblance. 

Everglad was the leader of the Brownies. He 
felt very proud of being the head of the Brownie 
band. The Brownies all liked to please him, so 
they called him Captain Everglad. 

The Goblins had a king instead of a captain. 
This king’s name was Bogle. The Kobolds also 
had a king whose name was Goldemar. The leader 
of the Tomtes was called Captain Claas. The name 
of the Nis king was Orm, and Captain Drac was 
the leader of this band of Lutins. 

There were ten Brownies, ten Goblins, six 
Kobolds, six Tomtes, six Lutins, and six Nisses, 
making just four-and-forty in all. And what a 
merry crowd they were! 

They were having such a happy time, singing, 
dancing, and playing games that it was several 
minutes before they discovered the Elves. And 
then how excited they were! 

King Bogle was the first to greet these fairy 
visitors. He knew at once who the Elves were. 


96 FOUR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 

“Welcome, Elfin friends, thrice welcome to the 
home of the Gray Goblins,” said he. “These are 
our cousins, the Brownies, Kobolds, Tomtes, Kisses, 
and Lutins. I think you must have heard of them. 
They have come at our invitation to spend a few 
days with us and, as you see, we have been making 
merry in their honor. Right glad will we be to 
have you join us and share in our good times.” 

He then introduced King Goldemar, King Orm, 
and Captains Everglad, Claas, and Drae. 

When King Bogle had finished speaking, King 
Olin led Queen Tita forward and answered him as 
follows: 

“We thank you, King Bogle, for your kind invi¬ 
tation, which we gladly accept. We greet you and 
all the Gray Goblins, also King Goldemar, King 
Orm, Captain Claas, Captain Drac, and Captain 
Everglad, together with all the Kobolds, Tomtes, 
Lutins, Kisses, and Brownies. Glad, indeed, are we 
to make your acquaintance. Pour-and-forty fairies 
are we from Elf land. We are journeying through 
Fairyland in our magic flying-machine, visiting all 
our fairy friends, as we wish to become better 
acquainted with them. This is Queen Tita; and 
these are the Elf-men and Elf-women of our court.” 


FOUR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 


97 



“Bowed low before the King and Queen of the Elves” 


The Goblins, Brownies, Kobolds, Tomtes, Lutins, 
and Nisses bowed low before the King and Queen 
of the Elves. They then warmly welcomed the Elf- 
men and Elf-women and bade them all be seated, 
after which they went on with their games and 
contests. 

The JElves were highly entertained by all they 
saw. When the Goblins and their cousins had 







98 FOUR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 

finished their part of the program, they asked the 
Elves to sing and dance for them. This the Elves 
readily consented to do. 

Now the Goblins, Kobolds, Brownies, Tomtes, 
Lutins, and Kisses had never seen the Elves dance, 
and they were much delighted with their visitors’ 
grace and beauty. The Goblins and their cousins 
were also greatly pleased with the Elves’ singing, 
which was much sweeter than their own, though 
not so cheerful. 

When the Elves were tired of singing and danc¬ 
ing, King Olin talked to the Brownies and Goblins 
and their cousins. 

Said he: 

“Our home is in a large Linden Tree, which 
stands near a beautiful river. In the daytime we 
play and sing, and dance among the leaves of the 
trees. We climb up and slide down the sunbeams. 

“We send pleasant thoughts sliding down the 
sunbeams to all good and happy people. 

“At night we climb down from the Linden Tree 
and sing and dance and play under the trees. We 
like to dance in a circle upon the toadstools. When 
it is dark, we dance and play out in the open 
meadows. 


FOUR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 99 

“When the moon shines bright, we take our 
fairy boats and row up and down the beautiful 
river. Then we climb up and slide down the 
moonbeams. 

“We send sweet and rosy dreams sliding down 
the moonbeams to all good and pleasant people.” 

When the Elf-king had finished, King Bogle said, 
“We thank you for telling us these things. We 
are very glad to learn more of our Elf friends. I 
will now ask Captain Everglad Brownie to tell you 
of our homes and how we work and play.” 

Everglad came running forward and, bowing to 
the Elf-king and Elf-queen, spoke as follows: 

“As you have already been told, the Goblins, 
Kobolds, Lutins, Tomtes, Kisses, and Brownies are 
cousins. We are often called house fairies, because 
we live most of the time in houses and barns. We 
have other homes, it is true. This hollow tree, as 
you see, is the home of the Goblins. The Kobolds 
and Lutins live in mountain caverns. The Tomtes 
and Nisses live on a farm, while we Brownies make 
our home in a hillside cave. 

“Most of our time is spent, however, in the homes 
of people who need us. Wherever the sick or 
needy are, there you will find Goblins, Kobolds, 


100 FOUR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 

Tomtes, Lutins, Nisses, or Brownies. 
We have our times of feasting and 
merrymaking; but we have learned 
that we are much happier when we 
spend part of our time helping 
someone who is sick or poor e ” 

The Elves were very much in¬ 
terested in what Everglad told them. 
They had heard the Trolls tell of 
helping the poor, and now here were 
these other fairies telling of how 
. “Helping some - they spent most of their time help¬ 
ing the sick and needy. It fiiade 
them want to return home and work harder at 
sending out good thoughts and good dreams. 

When Everglad had finished speaking, the Gob¬ 
lins, who had prepared a feast for the guests, in¬ 
vited them to partake of it, and how every little 
fairy did enjoy each dainty dish! 

The Elves spent several days with these queer 
little fairy men, enjoying their good times. At last, 
however, our travelers felt they could not stay 
longer. So after inviting the new fairy friends to 
visit them, and promising to return some time, they 
bade all the little fairy men a merry good-bye. 



CHAPTER VII 


THE GUARDIANS OF THE FOREST 



“Can you think straightf” 


When everything was ready, Queen Tita asked to 
be allowed to take charge of the flying-machine. 

“I know some fairy friends I wish very much 
to see and I am afraid they will be forgotten.” 

“Can you think straight?” asked King Olin with 
a twinkle in his eye. 


101 


102 FOUR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 

“Just try me and see,” retorted Queen Tita with 
a toss of her dainty head. 

“Very well,” replied King Olin. 

So when all were ready, Queen Tita closed her 
eyes and said: 

“Away, Thistledown, away, away, 

Travel, if need be, night and day; 

Down to earth you must not sink, 

Till we reach the place of which I think.” 

Now Queen Tita thought she knew exactly where 
she wished to go; but there were really two fairy 
homes she wished to visit, and she could not quite 
make up her mind which to choose. So when the 
flying-machine left the ground it went zigzagging 
through the air exactly as if it were following a 
worm rail fence. The Elves became so dizzy they 
could scarcely keep their seats. Queen Tita began 
to feel very much frightened. She could not 
imagine what was wrong. 

“Your brain must be full of angles,” laughed 
King Olin. “Where do you want to go?” 

“Why—why—I haven’t quite made up my 
mind,” stammered the Queen. “There are two 


FOUR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 


103 


places I wish very much to see, and I can’t decide 
between them.” 

“Well, no wonder we’re zigzagging,” remarked 
the king with a hearty laugh. “Just stop the ma¬ 
chine till you have decided; then say your rhyme 
again and you’ll be all right.” 

“I’ll say a new rhyme,” said Queen Tita. So she 
stopped the flying-machine, thought for a moment 
or two, and then said: 

“Sail, Thistledown, on the evening breeze, 

To a forest dim, where ’neath the trees, 

A band of fairy maidens dwell, 

Whose names I know but must not tell.” 

Thistledown immediately flew swiftly away, and 
soon the woodland home of the Gray Goblins was 
left far behind. On went our travelers over moun¬ 
tains and valleys, over lakes and rivers, till they 
reached another forest, not so large, but far more 
beautiful than the one in which the Goblins lived. 

The Elves had never imagined a place so won¬ 
derful. Surely there were never in all the world 
such trees as these. Even those which grew on the 
banks of the fairy river where the Necks and 
Nixes lived were not so grand. 


104 


FOUR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 


Then, too, there was something about this won¬ 
derful forest that made these little fairy folk feel 
rested at once, though they had traveled a very 
long way. Indeed, they felt as if they had never 
been tired and they wished they might stay here 
always. Then they remembered that this must be 
the home of some fairy friends, else Thistledown 
would not have stopped. 

But where were the fairies'? They looked at 
Queen Tita for an answer, but she seemed as 
puzzled as the rest of them. They waited patiently; 
still no fairies came. Then just as the sun went 
down, there was a faint rustling sound all over the 
forest. It was as if a soft breeze was gently stir¬ 
ring the leaves; but not a leaf seemed to be mov¬ 
ing. 

Suddenly from each tree came a beautiful fairy 
maiden, or Nymph. The maidens were dressed in 
brown and wore garlands of flowers in their long, 
dark hair. Joining hands they danced in and out 
among the trees. 

What a beautiful sight it was! The Elves waited 
quietly for the dancers to discover them. At last 
the dance brought the Nymphs quite near the flying- 
machine and they saw the Elves. 


POUR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 105 

At first the dancers were very much frightened 
and lost no time in getting as far away as possible. 
Before long, however, they returned and finding 
that the Elves meant them no harm, they bade their 
visitors welcome. 

They also invited the Elves to join in their dance. 
This our travelers were glad to do, and a merry 
time followed. When the dance was ended, the 
Nymph-queen, whose name was Calypso, led the 
way to a forest bower where they held their coun¬ 
cils. Here Calypso sat upon a mossy throne, deco¬ 
rated with garlands of flowers. 

The queen bade the fairies be seated and when 
they had done so, she said: 

‘ ‘Elf-friends, again we welcome you to the home 
of the Forest-nvmphs. Let us make the most of 
our time together, for soon we Nymphs must re¬ 
turn, each to her own tree. You must know that 
we are the guardians of the forest. During the day 
each Nymph must stay in the tree she is guarding. 
While she is there, she is as much a part of the 
tree as the bark, sap, leaves, or branches. 

"If the tree is injured the Nymph dies. Now 
there is nothing that can harm a tree guarded by a 
Nymph, if the Nymph is careful. But she must be 


106 


FOUR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 


always on the watch. If she forgets or is careless 
in any way, she loses her power. Then the tree 
as well as herself is in danger. At sunset we 
Nymphs may come out, but only for a short time, 
as we cannot live long in the open air.” 

The Elves noticed that Queen Calypso’s voice 
had been growing more and more faint. They knew 
that this meant the Nymphs could not stay with 
them much longer. They were sorry about this; 
but what was to be done? 

At last Queen Tita said, “When you and your 
Nymphs return to your trees, may we not go with 
you'?” 

“I fear not,” answered Calypso. “To do that, 
you would have to become a part of the tree, and 
I know of no way it can be done.” 

“Can you not give us something that will make 
us the same as you a.re?” asked Queen Tita. “The 
G-nomes gave us brown berries to eat, so that we 
might be able to stay in the earth as they did. 
When we visited the Necks and Nixes, we drank a 
crystal liquid and we could live in the water as well 
as they.” 

“But we are quite different from the Gnomes, 
Necks, and Nixes. The Gnomes are not part of the 


FOUR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 


107 



Floated away 


earth. Neither 
are the Necks, 
Nixes, and 
Water-nymphs a part of the 
water. But when a Wood- 
nymph enters a tree she 
becomes a part of that tree. 
Even if it were possible for 
you to go with us, you 
could not see us. And now 
we must bid you good-bye, 
for we have scarcely time 
to reach our trees. ” 

The Elves could hardly 






108 


FOUR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 


hear the last words of the Nymph-queen, nor could 
they see the Nymphs very distinctly. They rose 
and floated away into the forest like a mist. Again 
came the faint rustling sound the Elves had heard 
when the Nymphs had first appeared; then all was 
perfectly still. 

“How beautiful they are!” said Queen Tita. 
“And yet I am disappointed.” 

“And why?” asked King Olin. 

“Because I wished to see more of them. Can 
we not stay until they appear again?” 

“I do not think it would be best. You must re¬ 
member that they cannot come out again until to¬ 
morrow at sunset. That would be a long time to 
wait, as it is not yet midnight.” 

“Then let us go quickly,” said Queen Tita, “for 
it is so lonely here. I do not think I care to stay 
anyway.” 

King Olin accordingly led the way to the flying- 
machine. 

“All aboard!” he cried. “And I'll take you to 
the best place of all.” 

“It couldn’t be more beautiful than this,” said 
Queen Tita, “though I do hope it will be a little 
more cheerful.” 


CHAPTER VIII 


WONDERFUL LITTLE WORKMEN 

In a twinkling all the little Elf-men and Elf- 
women were in their places. Already they were 
beginning to feel more cheerful. When all were 
ready, King Olin said in his kingliest tones: 

“Go, Thistledown, go, 

Not too high nor too low, 

Till you reach a spot 
Where the sun shines not.” 

At this command of the Elf-king, Thistledown 
sailed swiftly away and soon the home of the 
Nymphs was left far behind. On and on they 
sailed without a single blunder, showing that King 
Olin was used to thinking for others. 

“Better catch your three-and-forty winks now,” 
he commanded, “for we have a long way to go, 
and when we reach the end of our journey there 
will be so much to see you will have no time for 
sleep.” 


109 


110 


FOUR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 


Obediently the little Elf-men and Elf-women 
closed their eyes and were soon in the land of 
fairy dreams. On and on flew Thistledown straight 
as an arrow toward the spot King Olin had in his 
mind. Through the rest of the night and all 
through the next day they traveled without a 
single stop. The sun went down, the stars came 
out, and at last the moon rose, flooding the earth 
with light. 

“I think w 7 e are almost there/’ said King Olin, 
“for we are flying nearer the earth/’ 

Sure enough, a mile or so farth er on, Thistledown 
alighted on the summit of a high hill. The Elves 
sprang out, glad to be on solid ground once more. 
The hill upon which they found themselves was 
covered with soft, velvety grass, dotted everywhere 
with flowers of every hue. The sweet odor of these 
flowers filled the air. 

King Olin looked about on all sides, then walked 
a few steps to a spot which appeared' to be the 
exact center of the hill. Beckoning to the Elves, 
he pointed to the ground at his feet. There, glit¬ 
tering in the moonlight, was a bright glass point. 

“When I step on this, be ready to follow me at 
once,” he said. 



FOUR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 111 


No sooner had he placed his foot upon the point 
than the top of the hill opened and he found him¬ 
self in a silver elevator, hung by long silver chains. 
Queen Tita and the other Elves followed as quickly 
as possible and the hill closed over them. Imme¬ 
diately the elevator began to descend. 

Upon entering the elevator, the Elves had been 
surprised to find it as light as day. They now 
saw that this light was caused by the precious 
stones with which the walls of the elevator shaft 
were set. How they sparkled and 
glowed as the 
elevator flashed 
by 1 Down, 
down, down it 


“In the land of fairy dreams” 






112 FOUR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 

went. It seemed to the Elves that they must, be 
going to the center of the earth. 

By and by the elevator stopped. The door slid 
back and the Elves filed out. They found them¬ 
selves in a large marble hall 
whose ceiling and walls were 
set with all sorts of precious 
stones. In the center of the 
ceiling glowed a diamond 
as large as a bushel basket, 
which gave light to the 
whole hall. In the distance 
they heard the tinkling of 
the most beautiful music. 

As they listened, the door 
at the farther end of the 
hall swung back and a 
throng of fairy men and 
women came dancing to¬ 
ward them. These strange 
fairies were dressed all in spotless white and upon 
their feet were tiny crystal slippers. Every Elf 
almost held his breath as he looked. What a beau¬ 
tiful picture the strange fairies made! On they 
came till they reached the spot where the El veS 









FOUR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 


113 


stood. Then one who appeared to be king of the 
band stepped forward and said, 4 ‘Welcome to the 
land of the White Dwarfs. I am King Olaf and 
these are the men and women of my court. You are 
just in time for our feasting and dancing.’ 1 

The Elves were led through long passages into 
wide halls similar to the one they had entered first. 
All these halls and passages were set with the 
brightest and clearest of precious stones. These 
stones were put there to furnish light, for you must 
know that these little underground people have no 
sun, moon, and stars to give them light, nor do 
they use lamps or candles. 

On and on the fairy troop went, out of one hall 
into another until the Elves began to wonder if 
they should ever stop. 

At last King Olaf paused and waved his wand. 
Immediately the hall in which they found them¬ 
selves opened out very large. 

The king waved his wand once more and a great 
canopy set with diamonds and other precious stones 
was drawn over the hall. At the same moment a 
great throng of fairy men and maidens came danc¬ 
ing in through several open doors. These fairies 
were all dressed in white like the others, with 


114 FOUR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 

crystal slippers on their feet. The men wore 
pointed caps with little silver bells that made music 
as they danced. The maidens wore bands of silver 
network in their hair and silver girdles about their 
waists. 

The Elves looked on, wondering where the feast 
was. Just then King Olaf waved his wand once 
more, and several tables covered with the finest 
linen and the most beautiful gold and silver dishes 
came right up through the floor. 

Another wave of the wand, and the dishes were 
filled with all sorts of delicious things to eat. In 
the same way, chairs came and placed themselves 
around the tables. After the Elves had all been 
seated at the king’s table the other fairies took 
their places. 

A merry time followed; for these little under¬ 
ground people are full of life and fun and cannot 
long remain quiet. No sooner had the feast begun 
than strains of the sweetest music reached the ears 
of the Elves. It seemed to come from somewhere 
above their heads. 

Looking up, they discovered a number of beau¬ 
tiful birds flying about and singing most sweetly. 
Now these were only artificial birds, which these 




\ 







116 


FOUR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 


little Dwarf-men had made in such a wonderful way 
that they could fly about and sing like real birds. 

The feast lasted about two hours as we count 
time. The king then raised his wand, and tables 
and chairs vanished like a bubble that has burst, 
leaving the fairies all standing on their feet. This 
seemed so funny to the little Elf-men and Elf- 
maidens that they all burst out laughing. Soon 
the White Dwarfs joined in and immediately all 
felt better acquainted. 

Just then the birds began singing merrily, and 
all the fairies began dancing. Round and round 
they went, the bells in the caps of the Dwarf-men 
tinkling merrily and the tapping of their tiny 
slippers sounding an accompaniment to the songs 
of the birds. 

When the music and dancing were over, the 
Elves were shown to their sleeping rooms. And 
what wonderful rooms they were! The walls were 
covered with precious stones, while in the ceiling of 
each was a diamond as large as your head. 

At first the little Elves could not close their 
eyes, everything was so rich and grand. But by 
and by they became a little more used to it and, 
because they were so tired, they dropped asleep. 


FOUR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 


117 



“Round and round they went” 


When they awoke they found that the busy Dwarfs 
were already up and had breakfast ready for them. 
And what a breakfast it was! There was every¬ 
thing for which a fairy could possibly wish. 

When they had finished eating, King Olaf asked 
the Elves if they would care to see the Dwarfs at 
work. 

“You see we don’t spend all our time at play,” 
he said. 




118 FOUR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 

Of course the Elves said they should be delighted 
to visit the workshops, as they wished to learn all 
they could. King Olaf then led the way to a hall 
much larger than any they had yet seen. Here, 
too, the ceiling and walls were set with precious 
stones, which made the hall so light that it was 
no trouble for the little workmen to see. 

In the hall the Elves saw the finest gold, silver, 
and precious stones they had ever seen. On every 
side were dozens of little Dwarfs busily engaged 
in making all sorts of beautiful things from these 
precious stones and metals. ' And so delicate was 
the work that you could not have seen it without 
your fairy spectacles. 

When the Elves had looked as much as they 
wished, King Olaf led them through a long hall 
into another beautiful room where a great number 
of Dwarf children were reading, writing, and study¬ 
ing. The teacher was a very wise-looking old Dwarf 
with a long snowy beard. 

"This is our school,” said King Olaf. "We are 
very proud of it.” 

"And well you may be,” replied the Elf-king. 
“It is the finest we have seen and we have visited 
many fairies.” 


FOUR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 


119 



They stayed in the Dwarf school some time 
listening to the recitations and looking at the won¬ 
derful books. The king then led them through a 
number of other rooms and halls until at last, to 
their surprise, they found themselves outdoors, al¬ 
though they were still underground. 

This, was very wonderful to the Elves, for they 
had 'believed that the rooms and halls they had 
seen were all there was of this underground home. 
Instead, they found themselves looking out over 






120 


FOUR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 


fields and meadows dotted with hills, lakes, and 
islands, and ornamented with the most wonderful 
trees and flowers. Beautiful walks led in all direc¬ 
tions, and when they went from one new place to 
another they walked through queer narrow lanes 
which looked as if they had been cut out of crystal 
rock. 

The flowers were all so fragrant and the birds 
sang so sweetly that the Elves thought they should 
like to stay always in this strange place. They 
could not understand how this could all be so bright 
and beautiful and still be underground. But they 
soon saw that instead of the sky overhead, there 
w T as a wonderful roof set with large carbuncles and 
diamonds, which gave all the light that was needed. 

The Dwarf-king led them up and down the beau¬ 
tiful walks and through the crystal lanes, and 
though they must have walked miles they did not 
feel at all tired. At last they came to a lake much 
larger than any they had yet seen. 

They went down to the water’s edge and the king 
waved his wand. Immediately a number of beau¬ 
tiful little canoes came gliding like swans across 
the water. The Elves and Dwarfs got into them 
and the canoes went of themselves across to the 


FOUR-ANO-FORTY FAIRIES 


121 



other side of the lake, and stopped at the shore. 

No sooner had the Elves landed than they 
noticed that this new place was quite different from 
the one they had just left. Here the grass and 
trees were not so green, the flowers were neither 
so fragrant nor so beautiful, and the birds sang very 
little. Yet it was a very pleasant place. 

While they were wondering what 
made the change, King Olaf said, 

“This is the country of the Brown ^ 
Dwarfs. They are coming now .. 

to greet us.” 

And, sure enough, from all 
directions came a number of 


“The canoes vent by themselves ' 7 
















122 


FOUR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 


little men dressed in brown, with silver bells on 
their funny little brown caps. They wore black 
shoes with red laces. They were not so handsome 
as the White Dwarfs, but their merry little faces 
were very pleasant to see. 

The Brown Dwarfs gave their visitors a hearty 
welcome and took them at once to their home. This 
home was very much like that of the White Dwarfs, 
though it was neither so large nor so grand. 

The little Brown Dwarfs lived much more simply 
than the White Dwarfs, and, like their white 
cousins, worked in gold and silver, although the 
things they made were neither so fine nor so beau¬ 
tiful. The Brown Dwarfs were, however, such gay 
and charming little people, and made their visitors 
so welcome, that the Elves wished they might stay 
longer. 

But King Olaf said, “If you wish to visit the 
Black Dwarfs, you must be on your way. This is 
their holiday time, and they will be more likely to 
make you welcome now than if you wait until they 
are busy. They are never very friendly, but much 
less so when at work. If they have ever done any 
work for you, they will make you more welcome 
than they would otherwise do.” 


FOUR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 


123 



“Then we are all right,” said the Elf-king. 
“They made our flying-machine and it just couldn’t 
be beaten. We shall be very glad indeed to make 
the acquaintance of these wonderful workmen. 

So they bade good-bye to the Brown Dwarfs and 
followed King Olaf out into a pleasant garden and 
on through fields and meadows similar to those in 
the country of the White Dwarfs. On and on they 
went till at last the green grass and the beautiful 
trees and flowers were left behind. 

They knew at once that they must be in the 






124 


FOUR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 


land of the Black Dwarfs. Not a green thing w T as 
to be seen anywhere. Everything was bleak and 
barren, and instead of grass and flowers there were 
only rocks and cinders. The air was chilly, and a 
smoky haze had replaced the beautiful soft light 
which had made the other places so pleasant. 

You may be sure the Elves did not like the 
change. They began to wish they had not come. 
But it was then too late to go back, as the Black 
Dwarfs had seen them and were coming to meet 
them. 

As you may already have guessed, these Black 
Dwarfs, like the others, were named from the 
clothes they wore. They were dressed in black 
trousers and jackets, and on their heads were queer 
little black, hood-shaped caps. Their shoes, too, 
were black, tied with red laces like those worn by 
the Brown Dwarfs. Now these Black Dwarfs were 
not at all handsome. On the contrary, they were 
very ugly, with red, weeping eyes like those of 
blacksmiths and colliers. 

Upon first seeing these ugly little creatures, the 
Elves wished more than ever that they had not 
come. But the Black Dwarfs greeted them pleas¬ 
antly enough and seemed very eager to show them 


FOUR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 


125 



the wonderful things the Dwarf-men had made. 

“We do not work with anything but iron and 
steel/’ said their king, whose 
name was Kuro. 

He then led his visitors through 
the wonderful Dwarf workshops. 

Here they saw so many things 
made of steel and iron that they 
were made to wonder how these 
little Dwarf-men could have 
found time to do so much. 


“The wonderful workshops” 



























126 


FOUR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 


The visitors were even shown the very spot where 
their wonderful Thistledown was made; and some¬ 
how after that they felt better acquainted with the 
Black Dwarfs. 

The Elves did not stay long, however, as the 
smoke and cinders did not agree with them. They 
had to cough and sneeze most of the time and their 
eyes soon became as red as the Black Dwarfs’ eyes. 
They were really glad, therefore, when the time 
came for them to bid the Black Dwarfs good-bye. 
You may be sure the Elves lost no time in making 
their way out of this region of smoke and cinders 
into the pleasant country of the Brown Dwarfs, and 
thence to King Olaf’s beautiful domain. 

The White Dwarfs came dancing out to meet 
our travelers, and the merry tinkle of the Dwarf- 
men’s silver bells and the tapping of their crystal 
slippers were like music in the ears of the Elves. 
And what a happy time they all had that night in 
feasting, dancing, singing, and playing games! 

The next morning the Elves bade good-bye to 
the White Dwarfs, and the silver elevator carried 
them once more to the outside world. And how 
glad they were to be in the warm sunshine and 
open air again! 















128 


FOUR-AND-FORTY FAIRIES 


Without more ado they took their places in the 
flying-machine and almost immediately they all 
began to sing: 


“Home, home! 

No more to roam!” 

Thistledown rose and sailed swiftly away. And 
just as the sun was going down that evening, the 
Elves found themselves once more in their beloved 
glen. 

“Oh, how nice it is to be at home again and 
how beautiful it is here!” sighed Queen Tita, sink¬ 
ing down on her favorite couch of moss at the 
foot of Linden Tree, their home. “Yet I am glad 
we went, for we have learned a great deal.” 

“Yes, indeed,” replied King Olin, “and I think 
we should begin at once to work harder than ever 
to help those who are unhappy. We must keep the 
sunbeams filled with good thoughts every day, and 
the moonbeams filled with sweet and rosy dreams 
every night.” 






































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